Speaking Points
Peter Kent,
Member of Parliament for Thornhill
Markham, Ontario
February 11, 2015
Length: approximately 5 minutes, 30 seconds
Check against delivery
Thank you Minister Goodyear.
Good morning ladies and gentlemen, friends and guests.
It's a pleasure to be here this morning in Markham − one of the fastest growing municipalities in Ontario, home to more 330,000 people, covering over 200-square kilometres of land.
According to Statistics Canada and the City of Markham, more than 400 companies are headquartered here thanks to a well-designed transportation and communication network, high- quality facilities, a diverse and highly-educated labour force and a pro-business environment.
With over 1000 high-technology and life sciences companies, Markham is truly a centre for innovation.
This is evident since we stand in the space of an excellent local company that is creating solutions here and abroad.
It makes me proud to see companies like yours, using your innovative skills to bring quality jobs to this region.
Jobs, growth and prosperity remain top priorities for our Government and we want to continue to foster an environment that supports innovation and economic development.
FedDev Ontario ensures our Government can continue to support the growth and diversification of the southern Ontario economy, through investments in the people and ideas that will lead to economic prosperity.
Investments, through FedDev Ontario's suite of programs and initiatives, are helping to make a difference for the people and businesses of southern Ontario.
To date, the Government of Canada, through FedDev Ontario has delivered 91 projects in the York region, to the tune of over $40 million dollars.
With this in mind, I'm pleased to deliver the good news you're all anxious to hear.
FedDev Ontario is providing a repayable contribution to HubHead Corp. through its Investing in Business Innovation initiative, which supports early-stage companies in southern Ontario by allowing them greater access to investments funds.
The company will have support to complete commercialization and late-stage development activities of its asset-management solution.
What does this mean? This will support activities like sales and marketing, software enhancement, and the protection of intellectual property—all key elements in this stage of the game.
The project will help HubHead Corp. to expand its market base and operations in Canada as well as other global markets, and target large, asset-intensive customers working in areas like energy, utilities, rail, mining and manufacturing.
So, Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm happy to announce FedDev Ontario is providing HubHead Corp. with up to $625,000 which is leveraging up to $1.25 million in angel investment.
[Pause of applause]
This project is expected to maintain 45 jobs and create four full-time equivalent jobs during the project and an additional six jobs by 2019.
Our Government knows that in order to help entrepreneurs and businesses like HubHead Corp. succeed, they need access to capital and mentoring support.
This announcement today clearly shows that we are listening to the needs of innovative businesses in Ontario. Simply put, we are providing access to capital and providing the support businesses require to bring some incredibly innovative products and services to market.
Our Government is proud to support Canadian success stories like HubHead Corp. And we are proud to help move southern Ontario's groundbreaking companies to the next level.
Congratulations again.
Thank you.
